History of the UQ Union Complex
Post-war 1950 and early 1960s
In the years following World War II, peacetime discussions and post-war planning would become central to government policy. Our wartime ally across the Pacific, the United States, underwent an economic boom that significantly elevated the standard of living for its citizens and fueled Australia's aspirations for post-war reconstruction. For diggers returning from the war, many were rewarded to attend university, but by the 1950s the existing Australian universities were becoming increasingly overcrowded and underfunded.
To tackle this issue, the Menzies Government initiated an enquiry into the future of Australian Universities. Stakeholders nationwide were invited to submit recommendations to the inquiry committee. Unbeknownst at the time, the UQ Union would submit a compelling albeit late submission that would alter the trajectory of student representation at UQ and Queensland politics for decades to follow.
The inquiry's conclusive report, commonly known as the 1957 Murray Report, proposed providing the UQ Union with appropriate amenities to fulfil its functions. Consequently, in 1958, a proposal was put forth and approved for constructing a Union Complex in St. Lucia.
The 1960s
The original three buildings (The Refectory, the Union Administration building, and The Relaxation Block), which were proposed in 1958, were completed and opened in 1961. Queensland Governor Colonel Sir Henry Abel Smith and Vice-Chancellor Sir Fred Schonell described student unionism as a vehicle for providing students with a ‘whole education’ through extra-curricular activities. He would conclude that the whole university experience should incorporate the virtue of service which ‘should involve them (students) in some service, however small, to their union, to their fellow students. It’s a sterile university career that omits this.’
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Progressive and radical movements would ramp up towards the latter half of the 1960s. Rising from this period were opposition to the Vietnam war, conscription and attempts to ban marches by the Queensland Government.
The 1970s
By the 1970s, the progressive community would grow and expand to other social issues, including the Sexual Liberation movement (predecessor to the LGBTQI movements of today), Women's Rights movements (pro-choice on abortion) and The Smash the Act (Anti-racism campaign). 1971 was also the year the South African Springbok team would tour through Brisbane, inciting anti-apartheid protestors in Brisbane to camp outside the establishment where the Springbok players were staying. The Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen of the time would infamously call a state of emergency to control demonstrations, which led to police brutality against peaceful protestors.
The Schonell Theatre would be opened in 1970, and the start of our community radio 4ZZZ in 1975 would be critical to showcasing independent musicians, cinema and theatre performances. Both would be central to fostering the alternative culture and Brisbane punk rock movement of the 1970s.
The 1980s
The campus movements that began in previous decades persisted into the 1980s. Bjelke-Petersen Government would spark outrage in 1985 with the dismissal of 1000 electrical workers during the South East Queensland Electricity Generating Board (SEQEB) dispute. Many of the progressive and radical students would stand in solidarity with the Electrical Trade Union (ETU) during these protests.
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